Front Lines
by Grachanin
Summary: During the year 2035 soldiers die in droves defending Earth against an Alien attack. A desperate scientist battles to create a human capable of fighting back. An enlisted soldier struggles to survive long enough to go home to her loved ones. When she finds herself on death's doorstep an unlikely bond must form between her and the scientist who has genetically modified her. OOC & AU
1. Chapter 1

April 13, 2035

16:00 Hours

I decided to put down the head cam. I blinked my eyes quickly to adjust to the light outside of a lens. It's been a long day. I had no idea that following these two to increase morale would be such a terrifying, yet exhilarating experience.

Now that I'm with them, they're more human than just my project. Rita or the Angel of Death, as the Media now calls her thanks to me, is a lot more fascinating than I first assumed. She was good for increasing morale, but now she's become more to me. I can't help but also idolize her like the millions of viewers I broadcast her image to. She pushes harder, works faster, and rests less than all the other men and women.

She's not drop-dead-gorgeous, but there is a surreal beauty to her. The scar that runs the length of her left cheek is more attractive than gruesome and her brown eyes are intense and thoughtful.

Just yesterday I asked Rita what drives her to fight so hard. I was desperately hoping for a compelling answer about saving humanity, but she surprised me. Her response was simple.

"I fight for blue eyes and a big smile," she told me.

Then she produced an engagement ring that was hidden under her gloved hand. She didn't tell me any more after that. I will admit, I was a little crushed to realize my idol was taken.

Now Cage is an entirely different story. He has cold blue eyes and he's her fighting partner. The two are inseparable and move as a unit. I don't think she notices, but he spends most of his time looking out for her. Even now, while she's resting free of her gear, he's crouched protectively beside her. He's bandaged her wounds on more than one occasion and seems to have a fascination in how she fights. When I say fascination, I mean, I think there is something going on there. Cage is a scientist to some almost unsettling degree and he met Rita under some unconventional circumstances. From bits and pieces they've accidentally divulged, I think Cage may have cooked something up in a lab and administered it to Rita. She might be his very own little experiment.

Cage's as fierce a fighter as Rita. He also possess a kind of charm especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Sometimes I find myself just fascinated by the way he explains battle maneuvers or the way he flirts. He's good about sneaking in a touch, too. I've even seen him sneak one in with Rita once or twice. It's a hand on Rita's back when they have a Press Conference or a gentle rub of the shoulder to reassure her. I wish I was as smooth as he is. Hell, I'm taking notes.

But truly, at the end of the day, they are two comrades and there is a bond there that goes deeper than what two playful lovers might experience. It's that life and death bond that makes these two some of the best war propaganda I've encountered.

As Rita shuts her eyes to nod off, Cage checks their messages via the touch screen panel on his suit that stands erect without him. I should say the suit is really his protective armor.

Their armor is more of a cage. A cage equipped with guns, small rocket launchers, and complete with mechanical legs that give them added agility and height. It's also designed to carry repair tools for downed aircraft and first aid equipment. These are all stored into the sides of the titanium legs. A last chance addition allows the suit to be abandoned and detonated from a safe distance. This is a measure only allowed to be taken when the suit itself is beyond repair. They look like something straight out of a video game. Unfortunately, a soldier still has to do all their own fighting. The Military hopes to design a weapon that allows these incredible armored devices to be unmanned, but as of now, these are meat bag holders. As helpful as they are, they pose their own dangers. Because a soldier has to be strapped in pretty tight, it can be hard to escape if the armor is damaged or if a soldier falls into a body of water too deep. There are some booster packs built into the back of the armor, which helps a soldier to slow down their descent when jumping from a plane or to blast a soldier out of the water if they're sinking, but there's only enough juice in those things for three shots. Using it too soon can be a fatal error.

I myself have never even sat in one of these things. They're incredibly expensive to make and as cruel as it sounds, are only given to the most elite soldiers. Elite beings those who have made ten kills or more and still have all their limbs intact. When a soldier is thrown into battle, they're eager to get those first ten killed as quickly as possible because, truth is, they have a lot better chance of surviving in that armor than on their own. The reality is the average number of kills a soldier makes before their demolished is about six. Wearing an armor machine like this instantly elevates your status and encourages soldiers around you that you've got their back.

That's precisely what makes Rita and Cage so astounding. In a single battle, Rita and Cage both average about twelve kills and wound other opponents well enough that they're sure to expire in a few hours. An actual battle lasts not much longer than three hours. Within three hours, we're either extinguished and calling the retreat or the enemy is out of warriors in that battle zone. Our adversaries do not retreat, they simply fight until the last one is standing.

I see Rita jolt awake. It's not uncommon for these two to lack the proper amount of sleep. They're wired too tightly. I'm even starting to feel the affects of the constant adrenaline high. Sleeping in No Species Land doesn't make fighting insomnia any better.

No Species Land, another name coined by me. I know I did steal it from No Man's Land, but we couldn't reuse that name in 2035 while fighting an alien invasion. No Species Land is actually what used to be the border between the States and Canada. These days, we're pretty much One Nation with borders eradicated. It's an insane panic to keep our species alive and united. Most of Europe is lost. The first attack a few years ago resulted in us having to nuke Europe after transporting what people we could out of there. It was the only way to hold off the initial invasion. With the atomic bomb, they lost and so did we.

People enlisted quickly after the first attack, but now drafts have been enforced. It's hard to get people to sign up for suicide. So, that's where I come in. It's my job to show the world that people like Rita and Cage exist and that anyone can do what they're doing. That our species is not doomed and we're capable of fighting back.

A few years back few people actually watched the Media less with the news easily accessed by the Internet. Now days people are glued to the screen. We don't feature TV shows or movies any more. Just the ever eventful updates. Even Radio stations are on the rise again. There's also no distinction between race any more either. No one gives a second thought if you're White, African, Hispanic, or Chinese. We're all in this war together and people only care if you can fight.

Guns, which were once taken away from the general populace in the name of peace, are being handed out like hot cakes. Everyone learns how to shoot and how our enemy works.

Our leading scientist on the Outsiders is Alex Mooney. I've spent a lot of time featuring him behind the lens. I can't say I'm super pleased with the name he's come up with for the Alien race, but I guess I can't get the privilege of naming everything. Alex is a sharp guy and while his previous work mainly went unnoticed, he's now the guy calling the shots on how we oppose these things. He's actually spent a lot of time with Rita and Cage. He's taught them all he knows about the Outsiders and how best to fight them. He's also spent sometime studying Rita after some interesting conferences with Cage.

Alex theorizes these Outsiders have a God Complex. In the decade of 2020 we've all but forgotten the idea of a god. Churches went out of style and schools have long stopped using God as the center piece of studies. Alex, along with some prestigious historians, is heavily pushing the belief that these beings have been here before based on the information from Ancient Civilizations. I know this is nothing we haven't thought of before, but it's more real now. Some people have started to believe that if we worship them and give into their radical domination, we can save our species. These are the people who have never been on the front lines and watched soldiers be demolished by the Outsiders' Jackals.

We call them Jackals because they slightly resemble Anubis from Ancient Egypt. They're just ten times more deadly and terrifying. They're intelligent too and we're under the impression they communicate telepathically making it nearly impossible for us to get a hold on any of their battle plans. Luckily, they're pretty much the grunts of the Outsiders. They're easier to kill and are usually sent in with the first wave. They're kind of like scouts that lets our adversary know our numbers and our attack strategy. We've learned to change our attack pattern as soon as the jackals are defeated.

Cage has just nodded to me and has helped Rita up and into her suit. It's time to get moving. We can't stay in one place too long or jackals are sure to find us. It looks like we'll be headed back to base. I can't lie, my gut turns every time we have to move. I swear, my nerves are fried. Anyways, I'm going to log off now. If you're future generations listening to this, and I hope you are, I've given you a general idea of what we're facing. Peace out!


	2. Chapter 2

anuary 02, 2035

04:00 hours

Somewhere off the coast of Orlando, FL in the Atlantic Ocean.

Rita's body punched the cold water so hard it knocked the breath right out of her lungs. She gasped as she tried to surge ahead, but stumbled and fell beneath the waves. It was a horrifying moment as she tried to fight the heavy weight of her gun and gear. The water chilled her to the bone and it was also she could do to force herself to the surface.

Once above the waves her ears registered the screams and shouts of other soldiers. Soldiers that had already made it to the front lines.

She froze. Staying in one spot and treading water seemed a far better fate than that of her comrades who were being killed in droves.

Suddenly, an aircraft that had transported the soldiers made a nose dive for the Ocean, it's tail a beacon of fire. It hit the water a few yards behind Rita creating a massive wave. The unforgiving water grabbed her and whisked her away to shore.

Rita's chest was the first to hit the rocky beach.

"Get your fucking gun in front of you," a Lieutenant to her right bellowed.

With frozen hands Rita forced the weapon from the sand and placed it in front of her. She was shaking uncontrollably and knew she wouldn't be able to hit a damn thing if she didn't calm down.

The large head of a Jackal appeared over her.

Rita fell flat on her back. It took her a moment to register the enemy. It was the first time she was face-to-face with her foe or in actual combat. Training had been rushed; they turned out soldiers by the dozens within a few weeks. Nothing really could prepare you for fighting an unworldly creature.

She could hear someone begging her to shoot as the animal bore down on her.

Rita squeezed the trigger and let the bullets pepper the area where the beast danced from side to side trying to dodge bullets. It was sluggish and Rita could make out a wound in its side from a previous fought. The knowledge her adversary was weak encouraged her, and she forced herself to a kneeling position. This time she took aim and watched as the bullets ripped into it's gray hide.

It's black eyes rolled into the back of it's head and it fell to the ground as its body convulsed in its last moments of life.

Panting, Rita forced her wobbly legs under her and turned to look to her Lieutenant for praise. Her breath caught in her throat as she made out his charred remains. While she had been fighting, he'd been blasted to pieces.

Rita hurled. While vomit spewed out of her rage replaced the previous contents. She could feel the heat of anger seep through her.

With a passionate cry, Rita charged up the rocky embankment. Her eyes were met with a gruesome sight of mangled soldiers and Jackals alike. She didn't have much time to meditate on the scene. She dropped to her belly and started aiming at the enemy that was pouring in.

This was suppose to be a sneak attack since the Jackals were not extremely fond of salt water. It burned their skin. Apparently, they had been prepared due to their large, assembled numbers.

Rita could see the huge tanks that were equipped with gallons of salt water spraying at anything that moved. They were used to set up a perimeter and it worked for the most part until the Jackals became too restless. When they were enraged with impatience, they would drive themselves forward shrieking as they encountered the water.

Generals were screaming for their men and woman to keep moving forward. No one really wanted to take any more ground, but if it wasn't taken by day, the area would be overrun by nightfall and they'd lose another territory.

Rita continued to fire into the packs of Jackals. She knew she was suppose to be moving forward, but she couldn't will herself to budge. She wanted to live.

"Please, just let me live through this," she cried as she reloaded her weapon.

Without warning, a grisly hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked her back. Rita screamed as she felt herself being flung through the air. Her gun went sailing in the opposite direction and clattered a few feet away.

Her scream ended when her back met the earth. A shadow loomed over her and teeth flashed. She felt the intense sensation of something biting into her side.

"No!" she howled and her hands found the mouth and tried to pry herself free.

Two giant hands gripped her own and pinned them down. Jackals liked to feast while their victim was still alive.

"Not me," Rita shrieked. She remembered the knife in her boot. She hit the heel of her boot on the ground and a blade stuck out the front. With all the strength she could muster, she swung her leg up and into its thick hide. The knife stuck. Rita could feel its sticky blood oozing down her leg, but the jaws loosened. Her adrenaline spiked and she jerked her leg up the length of the creature's body. She had no idea her thigh possessed so much power, but she felt like a rocket was attached to it. With a terrible will to live, Rita yanked the blade back out and stuck it into the beast's underbelly. She jerked her leg up to her chest again.

The Jackal dug its long, spindly fingers into her shoulders and started snapping at her throat.

Rita clawed at its neck even as the immense pain of its nails lodged in her shoulders increased. She could feel her energy beginning to wain as blood gushed out of her side and her shoulders.

Suddenly, there was relief. Rita's eyes rolled back and she coughed up blood as the large creature left her mangled body.

Within those few still moments, her adrenaline died off and she could feel herself rapidly becoming colder and her fingers going numb.

_Is this what it's like to die? __Rita_ wondered.

"But I don't want to die," Rita sobbed. "I don't wanna die."

Rita knew all too well that no medics would come to the rescue. The fact they had even had doctors was a joke. Often times, there were just far to many wounded to treat for any medical personnel to be of use. They needed doctors in hospitals not on the battle field. Before long, only nurses ran crazy trying to ease the suffering.

"That's good, that's good." Rita's pleading was cut short by a masculine voice that seemed situated by her face.

"You wanna live, right?" His voice was hushed and urgent.

"Yes," Rita cried, "please save me. Don't leave me to die here alone."

"Shhhh, shhhh, you have to be quiet now or they'll hear us. I'm going to help you now, but only and I mean only, if you give me your consent to use any means necessary. Huh? How about it?"

Rita felt calmer; weaker. A lump had built in her throat and her vision was blurring.

"Come on, Soldier, I need your consent. You wanna live, don't you?"

Rita's head flopped to the side and she managed to gurgle a weak yes. Then her world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

January 3rd, 2035

Abandoned Medical Center

Cold. Rita could feel the cold seep through her skin. The world was hazy. She twitched a finger first and then slowly moved her arm and was met with shooting pain through her shoulders. Breathing felt like a chore and her side ached terribly.

Putting her arms behind her as supports, Rita tried to lift her body up.

"Fucking Christ." Rita fell backward onto the metal slab from the nauseating pain. It was eerie. Almost as though she was resting on a table best suited for a morgue. If it wasn't for the pain, Rita might have assumed she was, in fact, dead.

"Morphine wearing off?"

Rita jerked her head to the side to spot the stranger. In normal situations, she would have aggressively confronted the man who approached her, but at this point, she could care less.

"You're alive," the intruder murmured while crouching down to be eye level with Rita. There was a shimmer of pride in his eyes and they even moistened slightly. "With any luck, you're going to heal pretty rapidly."

Rita just starred at him with a vacant expression. The only thing that was on her mind were his first words. She was alive. Images of Mark surfaced. When she thought of how it would have destroyed him if she had died out on that field, hot tears slid down her face. She wanted to call him so badly. Tell him a million times over how much she loved him. She missed her family. No one had any idea that she had a brush with death. No one except for the stranger that rested a comforting hand on her forearm.

Instinctively, Rita jerked her arm away and the pain punched into her again.

"Ahhhh," she growled.

"Take it easy. I'm here to help you. You've lost a lot of blood, but I think you're going to pull through. I'm sorry, but I don't have any more morphine to give you."

"Who are you?"

"Yeah, introductions, sorry. I'm William Justice Cage."

"I'm..."

Cage cut her off. "Rita. I scanned your microchip. Good thing for you that baby wasn't damaged and I was able to retrieve your blood type and what medicines you're allergic to."

"Thank you for saving me." Rita tried to focus and smiled as she reflected on his last name. "Nice middle name. Suits you." She keep feel a delirious sense of relaxation and peace while her mind continued to wake up.

"When I was a kid I used to think it was a sign I'd join the Justice League. You remember them?"

Rita nodded her head. "I wanted to be Wonder Woman, but I was never very good with a lasso or at wearing spandex." She couldn't help, but crack a grin at the memory of when she was six years old. She had told her parents she couldn't be bothered with jeans. She needed a Wonder Woman outfit. Her parents told her she wasn't quite old enough to wear an outfit like that, but she could when she grew up. Now, here she was, grown up and stitched into a military uniform, but she wasn't any Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman wouldn't be lying immobile on a steel slab.

"That's okay, I've never turned into the Incredible Hulk either." Cage offered a tired smile.

Rita studied him. He had beautiful blue eyes that were masked by dark circles. His black hair was a little grown out, but still showed the definition of a military cut. Dog tags jingled at his chest. His shirt clung to him as perspiration mixed with the fine layer of dust that coated his body. For not being very tall, he still looked like he'd be a real bitch to fight with his bulging biceps and formed chest.

"How are you feeling?" Cage stood up to check her vitals.

"Well, I've been a hell of a lot better," she coughed.

"No headache, nausea, pounding in the ears, or burning sensations."

Rita thought on it for a moment. She was vaguely aware of being tired, but not completely exhausted. Actually, there was a warmth spreading through her and she felt like she was rapidly thinking more clearly.

"No, I'm pretty good actually."

"Good, good," Cage said more to himself. "Do you remember anything that happened?"

"Yes, I think so. I was on the beach and a Jackal attacked me. I thought I was a goner and then he just let go. After that, I really have no recollection. I think I remember you in a kind of fragmented way. You were shouting things to me. Wait, did you drop me?"

"You felt that?"

"My back was kind of tender to being with after the attack, so, yeah. I felt it."

"Anything else?"

"No. Just darkness." Rita stared up at the ceiling. "Calm darkness."

"Yeah, the darkness and the calm. That's probably right around the time that you died."

Rita's eyes went wide. "I died!"

"Calm down. You were only gone for a few moments before I brought you back."

"Thank you! Thank you! How did I die? Was it the lack of blood? Is something horribly broken?" she whimpered.

"Well, actually..." Cage let out a long sigh. He put his hands on his hips and took a step back. "Rita, I did something to you."

"What?!" Rita convulsed to a sitting position and screamed with agony.

"No, not like that," Cage rushed forward and fought to restrain her. "What I did helped you! It's probably what brought you back."

"What the fuck are you talking about!" Rita shrieked at him.

"I asked your permission to save you. Do you remember that part?" Cage shouted as she tried to push him off.

"How the fuck should I? Maybe you don't, but I remember the part about me bleeding to death!" Rita argued back panting heavily. She gave in to her exhaustion and allowed Cage to pin her to the table.

"Look, Rita, I asked your permission and you gave it to me. I'm a scientist, well sort of, and I've been experimenting on creating super humans, if you will. Some soldiers came forward to be tested on. Unfortunately, all three had the same results. They were dead within thirty minutes. I was banned. But dammit, Rita, I knew there was a way to make it work if I had the right person."

"Cage, are you saying you killed me? This thing you gave me killed me?"

"Yes, but that's just the thing, you came back, Rita. For whatever reason you came back to life!" He eased his weight off of her.

"You're not finding a reason, Cage. Your experimenting fun is over. I'm no one's lab rat."

"You wanted to live and I saved you. It's as simple as that. For God's sake, you were going to die. If I didn't do what I did, we wouldn't be having this conversation now. You'd be one of the thousands of soldiers we see die every day because we're just not strong enough as a species," his voice lowered and cracked as he passionately expressed the last sentence.

Rita took a moment to collect her thoughts. She glared up at the ceiling, but she couldn't argue it. Whatever he gave her had saved her life.

She let out a long sigh. "I have to get back to my unit." She tried to get back up again.

"Hold up," Cage pinned her down again, "you need to rest. I think we've thoroughly gone over the fact you died recently. Besides, when you died the micro chip registered you as KIO. No one's going to be really looking for you."

His words sunk in. "So, what you're saying is that I'm out?"

"Basically."

"In other words, I'm free."

"As in?"

"I don't have to be a soldier any more. Can't enlist a dead girl. Can't call a dead person a deserter." For the first time in months, Rita was really happy.

"Um," Cage half chuckled, half coughed, "that's not quite what I was thinking. I, uh... You remember the whole trying to make people superhuman so we could save our species? That's what you're for. Besides, what happened to the whole Wonder woman dream?"

"Hey, like I said, I don't really do spandex well."

"Wow, I guess I grabbed the wrong person. I thought you were a soldier."

"A drafted one. I didn't choose this, Cage," Rita shot back icily.

"What will your family and friends think when they've learned you're a deserter?"

A sly smile spread over Rita's face. "Cage, I don't think you know my family very well. They're just going to be happy I'm home in one piece."

"Alright, you can do what you want. I won't stop you, but I just hope that when your family is dying, you remember that you could have done something to stop it."

"I'm just one person. How the Hell am I suppose to do all that?"

"By allowing me to do some testing on you. Let me see if there's a way to make this possible for other soldiers. I don't know, if you've got the results I theorized, you should be able to match an Elite's strength. That alone will inspire masses that it's possible to defeat them."

"Cage, it's not that I don't appreciate what you've done for me. Really. I would be dead without you. Unfortunately, I'm just not your person. Besides, I'm not even sure what you gave me is really doing anything except that it killed me and you resuscitated me."

"Rita," a triumphant smile spread across his lean face, "you're standing."


	4. Chapter 4

Rite rolled uncomfortably on the cot. She couldn't believe she wasn't asleep yet. In boot camp she learned how to pass out immediately. She felt energized. It was as if an explosive, kinetic energy hibernated in her muscles. Finally she decided to abandon sleep completely and explore the derelict hospital.

It was eerie as she padded down the empty, cold corridor from the sick bay Cage had stationed her in. She followed the soft, blue light that escaped from the office down the hall.

Cage leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't slept in forty eight hours now and it was starting to take it's toll. He'd spent the better part of last night medicating Rita.

He was tired. Tired of hibernating here. Tired of letting time just pass on. Most of all, he was tired of the images that flashed through his mind reminding him of the horrid death his brother experienced. That he wasn't able to save him. In those final moments, his brother's tattered body resembled more of the meat sold at markets than the youthful man Cage had known his whole life. He could still feel the icy grip of his brother's hand as he heaved his last. The warmth rushing out of his body. Cage could never explain, not even to himself, what that moment was like. He couldn't understand how he could stare down at the lifeless form he had spent his whole life teasing, protecting, growing up with, and fighting alongside only to know he was gone. A whirlwind of memories had rushed through his mind while his brother's soul rushed out.

He had saved Rita and for that he was happy. He could save a thousand more people, but it wouldn't bring back Thomas. It would never bring back his younger brother.

Cage took another sip of brandy and wept quietly to himself. It was why he liked the cold walls of the laboratory or the hospital. The walls and rooms were devoid of life. Nothing was there to look down on your sorrow. No warmth to remind you of happier, simpler times. Just cold, harsh reality.

He had promised himself he would never care so much for another human being again. It was too hard and too distracting to lose someone and, the way he saw it, most people were as good as dead anyway.

"You can't sleep either," Rita mused aloud leaning against the door frame.

Cage jerked his head back surprised he hadn't heard her enter. He coughed and pretended to get something out of his eyes.

"Eh, yeah," Cage sighed. "Not much sleeping these days. I only have a week to get everything logged, so..."

"Gotcha," Rita offered a guilty grin.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well, I can't sleep. I'm surprised by the amount of energy I have. I haven't felt like this in a long time. My muscles seem to ache." She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed them.

Cage nodded his head as if he expected to hear those exact ailments. "Brandy?" He lifted a bottle up and extended it to her.

"Ha, how the Hell did you get this?" Rita hadn't had a strong drink in months. It wasn't like anyone had time to brew. People were a little preoccupied with surviving and rationing food, not booze.

"I'm a clever man," Cage nodded his head to himself. "Clever," he murmured while looking at the data being pulled from Rita's blood sample.

Cage looked a lot better after the shower he'd taken earlier. Rita couldn't lie. It wasn't going to be too bad spending the week with him, but she didn't allow his enticing looks to distract her. She was weary of his help and only had one goal in mind- get back home. It wasn't the first time she had been driven like a frenzied banshee to get back to her loved ones and she knew she could do it again with or without Cage.

"Since you can't sleep, how do you feel about going for a run?" Cage glanced up at her.

The air outside was cold and crisp. The moon afforded enough light to allow the two to not rely on flashlights. The old clinic was nestled between two mountains and the expansive parking lot was abandoned. Its derelict features were enough to make Rita want to simply run back to the warmth of humanity.

Rita could see that Cage was carrying a piece. Even though the site had long been abandoned by human and alien alike, one couldn't be too careful. She was grateful he was packing it. Glancing at the ridge line, she could imagine Elites lining it and swarming in on them. She had never actually fought one yet, but the stories and images were terrifying.

An involuntary chill ran up Rita's spine. "Why is it empty anyway?" She walked beside him allowing her muscles to warm up. The over sized coat Cage had given her was much appreciated.

"Had to be evacuated. One of the first places to be hit. It's like they already knew our hospitals were full of the weakest humans." Cage reached out a hand and grabbed Rita's wrist. "Wait."

Rita froze. The hairs on the back of her neck raised up. She wanted to bolt back to the hospital and could swear Cage could feel her starting to shake. She was sure she saw shadows on the ridge, but after her little alteration, she wasn't sure if she could really trust her eyes.

Cage stayed rigid while still holding on to Rita's wrist. His breathing slowed as he listened closely.

Cage felt his grip relax until he completely released her arm.

"Sorry about that," Cage breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did you see or hear anything?" Rita shuddered. She wanted to bolt so badly, but Cage's strong presence made her feel like she needed to remain stoic.

"No, it's okay." His eyes dropped from the horizon. "Just ghosts," he whispered to himself. For a moment, he remembered his brother beside him while the ridge lined with Elites. "Let's run?"

Rita nodded and started trotting. Her run was invigorated by the nervousness Cage's previous actions had instilled in her, but it made her feel hyper aware. She was fascinated by the fact that last night she was laid out on a table dying and tonight she was out jogging. A smile spread across her face as she felt the buoyancy in her muscles and joints. She started taking long, leaping strides absorbed in her own little world. Her muscles bunched and coiled beneath her and she could swear she found herself being able to leap abnormally high. The fluidity and strength of her motion took away her fear.

Cage ran beside her. He was having to exert more energy than Rita. Cage was fast for his stature and his reflexes had been some of the best in his unit. But against Rita and just her running, Cage knew it was a preview to how much more capable she was going to be in other areas of combat. He had taken years of mental and physical training to make himself one of the best, but he had a feeling she would now be able to do that in a number of days. How he wished she was willing to return to active duty.

Rita decided to run full out. She punched her body into the faster gate and was mystified by the speed in which she was covering ground. She started to laugh.

When she forced herself to a halt, she assumed Cage would be a few paces behind her. To her surprise, she found him struggling to catch up.

He came up beside her breathing heavily and smiling widely. "How did that feel?" The smile felt good as it slipped across his somber face.

"Incredible!" Rita felt exuberant. Ever since she was little, she dreamed of being able to run like a cheetah or leap like a kangaroo. Was this literally happening to her?

"How am I doing this?"

"Well, humans don't use the full capacity of their brains. Yes, they use the entire brain as far as function is concerned. This can easily be proven by someone who has had brain damage. No matter how small the damage area is, it's still going to create negative side affects. Capacity is a different story. The difference between some really incredible athletes, or more relevant, soldiers, is that they are able, through extensive discipline and training, to access more of that capacity. You have bypassed all that training and discipline and have skipped right to having faster mental ability than any other human. This faster capacity allows you to have increased reaction time. Reaction time being the time it takes you to perceive an attack. It's an increase between the time you receive the stimulus and then react. This in kind improves your response time. This is the time it takes to actually choose an appropriate response. This all then links to your movement and speed allowing you to run faster, avoid danger better, and counteract more precisely."

"This is amazing! It really is, Cage." A glint of curiosity shimmered in Rita's eyes. "Care to spar?"


	5. Chapter 5

January 10th, 2035

"They say you'll never forget where and what you were doing the day of the first attack," Rita mumbled while her soft gaze followed the ruins of the city to her right.

Smoke suffocated the sky, cars and buildings lay as a crumbled reminder of a civilized time, and empty streets echoed stories of a once expanding city. Now, it was just Ground Zero. It was the first time humans laid eyes on the Invaders and it would be the last time people would imagine aliens as benevolent creatures once depicted in movies such as E.T. or Star Wars.

Cage's battered jeep bumped uneasy over the decimated highway. Each jostle grated his nervous system as it reenacted the feel of the convoys that not only drove over any terrain, but also the bodies that littered the battle field. No man left behind had morphed into every man for himself as numbers decreased rapidly. It wasn't the creatures that sickened Cage, it was the receding belief in humanity. If the Invaders didn't kill every last human, they would themselves with the radical drop in morale. It's hard to fight extinction.

Cage glanced over at Rita. The loose strands of her brunette hair danced in the wind. The gentle expression of peace on her face made him long for home. She was going home to people who loved her. Cage knew she really had no idea how important she was. She was most certainly still human, but a new evolution of the species. Her genetic code was the hope of humanity. Whenever a species is threatened by extinction, they have two choices- adapt or die. Rita was the perfect example of adapting. Not only was her body better crafted to fight the Invaders, but also to sustain life on this now foreign planet. Disease ran rampant with the Center for Disease Control now an exploded station and the sick in hospitals displaced. Rita's immune system could meet these overwhelming odds head on and she would barely feel so much as a touch of the flu.

"Is it something on my face?"

Her words snapped Cage out of his deep pondering. "What?"

"You've been staring at my face."

Cage grinned as he realized Rita had been checking her face in the side mirrors trying to figure out his reason for his staring. "No, it's fine."

"Just fine?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"It's a pretty face."

Rita glanced at him and smiled. "Thank you, so is yours."

Cage laughed. Here he had been brooding over the fate of mankind and Rita was worried about something on her face. He started to laugh uncontrollably. It felt so good to feel his body jostle from his amusement.

Rita couldn't help but grin. Then she started to laugh. She wasn't even sure what he was laughing about, but she reviled in the moment.

Cage gripped the steer wheeling and he leaned back as the last rolls of laughter escaped him.

Rita returned her gaze to the abandoned city. She had every belief they would somehow beat the overwhelming odds and return to cities such as this one. Of course, she didn't imagine in a hundred years it would be her helping beat those odds, but she inwardly thanked the people who were willing to fight.

"Where were you when it happened?"

"That's a long story," Rita sighed. She wanted to focus on jovial things and not that memory. She smoothed the over sized, black shirt Cage had lent her. It hung loosely off her body. There had been a time her chest was more pronounced and her once round face was always accompanied by a smile. Now her frame was smaller, her chest reduced by several sizes, and her visage longed for the rare moments a grin stretched its taunt skin.

"Well, we've got another five hours of driving to the base. I don't have anything better to do unless they turn the 'this is an emergency, please seek shelter and avoid the outdoors. Help will arrive,' on the radio into a remix."

He did look extremely tired and although she had offered to drive numerous times, Cage had a certain affinity for the jeep. Apparently, he had practically built it himself enhancing it to be suitable for battle situations. Rita was starting to wonder, with Cage's obvious passion for enhancement, why he never became a plastic surgeon. Instead of making her into a super fighting machine he could have turned her into a super model. She looked down at her body. She wouldn't really have minded some fake boobs and maybe a little lift on her ass wouldn't be all that bad.

"I guess if it keeps you awake, I could sum up my experience."

Cage settled back in his chair. He liked listening to Rita talk. After being alone for so long, her voice was comforting and his mind could use a little stimulation. He was starting to get worried when he would finish blinking and it appeared they were a mile farther down the road. It was time for an action story.

"I was living in SLC, UT working towards becoming a dentist. My little sister, Samantha, was staying with me for a few weeks during her Spring break vacation. We're quite a few years apart, so I thought the break would be a great opportunity for us to spend more time together since I wasn't involved in her growing up very much. I remember setting the table for dinner, I had made BBQ pulled chicken and salad. The TV was on and that's when some of the first images..."

Rita put a plate on her scratched, wooden table. It was enough to seat the two of them comfortably, but hardly the best vantage point to the TV. She knew watching TV during dinner wasn't suppose to be the best habit according to some doctor or study, but she liked to play a show or two. It got her mind off the mountain of exams that plagued her every waking moment and her little sister had to do some report for school. Something about watching the news and giving an account of the current events. She was impressed her sister was even entertaining the thought of extra credits during Spring Break. The kid was only about eleven years old.

"Hey, I can't really see the news from here, can we eat on the couch?"

Rita glanced at her couch that was stacked with her school material and even some fake teeth sets. "Um, sure, just don't mention to mom that I let you eat in the living room. You know how picky they are." She rolled up her sleeves as the baggy, white shirt threatened to dip into the BBQ sauce.

"Ha ha, you've been out of the house for a while, sis. They are super chillax now. I bet they won't have as big a fit when I start dating." Samantha eyed the salad on her plate with mild disinterest. Her older sister's healthy eating habits made her long for mac and cheese.

"Yeah, well, I'll do it for them," Rita poked her sister in the ribs. There was no way she was letting the little bugger off easy when it came to boys.

Rita worked on dishing up her plate while her sister made some room on the couch. The TV blared in the background on the news channel and the voices of the anchors sounded strained and frantic.

Rita paused and decided to glance up at the screen. She could see blurry images of people running and screaming in droves. Her heart dropped as she imaged it was another terrorist bombing or maybe mayhem in the Middle East.

"Those poor people," she mumbled to herself and scooped up more chicken.

"Rita!" Samantha haltingly hollered.

"Just a minute."

"Rita!"

"What?" Rita rolled her eyes and marched into the living room. "I have TVO, I'm sure it can wait..." her voice trailed off as she stared at the screen. Her fork she had been bringing to her mouth clattering to the ground, chicken still speared to it.

The news anchor looked into the lens with a wild eyes. "This is not a test. The President has declared a state of emergency. We are under attack. Please, do not leave your homes, stay inside. Dim the lights and lock all doors and windows. I repeat, stay inside and wait for military personal to evacuate all major cities. If you are in rural areas, do not travel to the city."

A chill shot down Rita's spine and shocked her core. This had to be a hoax.

"Rita?" Samantha's voice quivered and she looked up to her older sister. "What's happening? What are those things on the screen?"

Rita couldn't register what she was seeing. Tall, biped creatures roamed the streets and struck out at people. They looked like mammoth wolves, but with the fluidity of cameraman fled with the lens aimed towards the monsters that roamed the crowded streets and then the camera clattered to the ground. The images were skewed and fragmented as they were being captured in between the cracked glass of the lens.

It was then, Rita realized the background was that of Downtown Salt Lake City. The temple loomed in the background as droves of tourists poured out of its fenced premises.

"Samantha," her voice wavered, "I want you to call mom and dad while I lock all the doors and windows. Stay away from the windows, sweetie."

Samantha started to cry as she fumbled with her cell phone and speed dialed her parents.

Adrenaline screamed through Rita's limbs as she bolted through the house. She slammed the front door shut and bolted it. Her mad dash continued as she shut all the windows, closed the blinds, and flipped the lights off.

_Is this real? _Her mind could not comprehend what was happening. This wasn't how a major disaster was suppose to happen. In the movies there was time. It built up to this. It just didn't happen. You didn't go from eating dinner one minute to seeing people killed on live television in the very town you live in.

Once she had completed her mission, she returned to the living room where Samantha cried on the phone to her parents.

"Let me talk to them," Rita eased the phone out of her sister's clenched hands. "Mom... Dad... It's Rita. No, I'm not sure what's happening, but they're telling everyone to stay out of the city. They haven't said it's the Chinese or any country for that matter. Don't leave the farm."

Rita fell silent.

"Reports are coming in. It appears these things are coming in from space crafts." The news anchor held her blue tooth to her ear. "Yes, it is confirmed by military personal that they are space crafts and we are to consider these creatures hostile. The military has declared Marshall Law in the city. Please seek shelter until otherwise advised."

Rita found her voice again. "Mom... Dad, Samantha and I are going to come to you. I'm going to get us home. I love you both. I have to go now."

"What's happening?" Samantha screeched.

"Shhhh, shhhhh, it's okay. Hill Air Force base is a few miles from here. The military is going to be here in minutes and there's some great soldiers who know what they're doing. These things won't last long, I promise. Now, I want you to go pack your bags." Rita's insides clenched. She had dated a few of the young men on that base. It was had for her to fathom that those smiling boys would be the first to attack whatever was outside.

"But they said to stay in the city," Samantha stammered.

"I know, honey, but we need to be ready to go."

"Go where?"

"Just get your things," Rita snapped and felt bad immediately afterwards. "I'm sorry, I just need you to listen to me." Rita dropped to her knees and locked eyes with her sister. "I will not let anything happen to you." Her voice trembled with passion.

Samantha gazed into her sister's brown orbs. The expression of both determination and savage purpose in her sister filled her with confidence. In that moment, her sister just wasn't a girl, she was a soldier and Samantha realized that long before Rita ever would.


	6. Chapter 6

Darkness, complete and utter darkness. It took Rita a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden shift in reduced light.

Samantha was sobbing uncontrollably as screams echoed down State Street.

_What do we do? _Rita's mind felt hazy. The power had gone out and only moments before the President had made an appearance on TV. His words of encouragement were ended when Salt Lake City was hurled into a dark frenzy.

"What do we do?" Samantha howled.

"I... I..." Rita stammered for words. "I want you to go to the basement."

"It's scary down there."

"Go, Sam!"

Samantha grabbed her crudely packed suitcase as she scuttled down into the basement.

"Okay, think," Rita breathed to herself. She dashed into the kitchen and retrieved her lighter. She wildly grabbed candles, flashlights, blankets, and canned food. She could hear the sonic boom of jets flying overhead.

Suddenly, the ground quivered beneath her feet. Something had impacted the Earth. Curiosity seized her, and she carefully raised a blind from her kitchen window. Her labored breathing fogged up the glass, but she could make out a downed fighter plane about a block away.

"Oh no!"

Something dark raced past her vision. She froze, her breathing halted in her throat. The window in the living room shuddered. A high pitched screeching noise assaulted her ears as the sound of something sharp danced across the glass.

She turned her head ever-so-slowly and took a nervous step back from the kitchen window. She heard glass starting to splinter. Whatever was outside was interested in getting inside.

She picked up her kitchen knife and carefully eased herself towards the door to the basement. It was only a few paces behind her. For a moment, a plan tried to formulate in her mind. She wanted to retreat to what she thought was the safety of the basement, but the fear of exposing her sister's hiding place paralyzed her. If she went down now, what would stop it from going down after them? Tears seeped out of her eyes as she continued to creep along the kitchen wall.

The glass exploded spewing shards all over her couch where they had sat only moments before.

She started to hyperventilate as she lost sight of the living room. She rounded the corner and rested her back against the stuccoed wall. She fought to remain as silent as possible.

Glass crunched under foot and a low growling, clicking noise breached her ears. It was a sound she had never heard from any animal. The floor creaked beneath its immense weight as it stealthily made its way into her home.

Rita wanted to make a run for it. To rip open the kitchen window and shove her body out. The familiar sound of rain pelted her roof and with it came an odd odor. Whatever it was reeked worse than a wet dog.

Rita held the knife to her chest. She was shaking uncontrollably, her legs threatening to collapse beneath her. She thought of her sister, so young and trusting. All she had wanted was to spend sometime getting to know her younger sister better.

She heard it making its way towards the kitchen. Two, long fingers wrapped themselves around the side of the wall. She scooted away from the spindly digits. It was right there. It paused for a moment as it emitted more low growls and clicking noises.

Rita crouched down and crawled away from the wall. She wanted to get in the pantry. It was only a few feet from her. It wouldn't afford her much protection, but at least her back and sides would be covered. If she could only hide in time.

She was so close her fingers could touch the cold doorknob. The kitchen floor quaked beneath her. The sound of something stepping forward made Rita's stomach plummet. She surged forward, pulled open the pantry door, and darted inside. She had no idea whether or not the intruder had seen her, she hadn't bothered looking back. She was sure her heart had stopped beating as she squinted through the tiny slit in the door. She couldn't make out anything in her dim kitchen.

Then she heard it. A low wheezing sound. It seemed directly in front of her pantry. Through the crack she could make out its hunched form. Its hind legs were shorter than its arms forcing it to put the bulk of its weight on them. Its fingers were about the length of Rita's leg. Long nails protruded from its outstretched digits and made a clicking sound across the linoleum every time it moved. Its face reminded her of a Jackal with black, hollow eyes twice the size of a humans. Its skin was gray and leathery, but platted like that of a reptile.

For a brief moment, Rita found herself staring in not only abject terror, but fascination as her mind tried to summon a reason for this monster's existence. Perhaps a genetic mistake? Maybe werewolves were real.

In a flash of gray, it left her line of vision. Rita's breath hitched up in her throat. Her home became uncomfortably silent; a sharp contrast to the chaos of sounds outside. She took a step back and felt her foot clatter a box of jars.

_Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ Her mind screamed as the noise erupted.

Then she saw it. Its morbidly long fingers slid through the crack in the door; its nails causing the paint to chip.

As if teasing in her, it leisurely opened the door.

The amount of trepidation in her overpowered all her other senses. She felt her thigh muscles contract, her heart slam beneath her rib cage, and her lungs inflate. It was a feeling like non other she had experienced. If it wasn't for the almost certain death that loomed before her, this rush might have been welcomed. In that moment of spiked adrenaline, she felt as though she could rip the beast in half.

It towered before her and cocked its massive head to the side as an eerie grin stretched across its gaping mouth. Its open jaws displayed rows of sharp, hooked teeth that appeared to stretch down its throat. Its snarl turned into what only could be described as a cackling laugh punctuated by otherworldly vocalizations.

Rita lost the feeling in her legs. She poised her knife ready to strike out if only once.

Then a voice she had forgotten shattered the moment.

"Rita!" Sam shouted from the depths of the basement.

Immediately the hellion reared back and swung its bulk towards the basement door.

"No!" Rita almost couldn't believe the primal cry that erupted from within her. It was deep, gritty, and so full of rage the sound alone might have made even an ax murdered rethink their plan.

Adrenaline pervaded her body and in one giant leap she found herself out of the pantry and bearing down on a monster five times her size.

In the next moment, Rita was sure she had abandoned her body. It was as if everything happened to her physically, but the rest of her had an aerial view. The walls to her kitchen splintered and erupted. Chunks of dry wall flung free and pipes burst spewing water in all directions. Her body was caught in the blast and hurled backward like it was nothing more than a rag doll.

The creature's hide was penetrated by splinters of wood. It shrieked and tried to run away from the explosion, but a few of its fingers had been severed clean off making its gate labored and uneven. Struggling with its own survival, the monster bolted from her home into the street where it mowed down whoever got in its path.

Rita's body impacted with the linoleum. Her hands flung out instinctively to protect her head as the rest of her body felt like it had been internally fractured. She felt her consciousness brawling with an overwhelming desire to pass out. Her ears rang and she thought she felt blood oozing down from them.

"Rita!"

Her mouth gaped open as she tried to answer Sam, but no sounds escaped. Instead she coughed and fought to breath. The wind had been punched out of her lungs.

With only one thing left on her faltering mind, she crawled towards the top of the stairs. The door and walls around the basement had been blasted clean off. Forcing herself to her hands and knees, she sucked in her first deep breath and then screamed.

"Sam! Sam! Sam!"

Sam couldn't believe the explosion that had rattled the upstairs. She heard her sister calling her name and without a moments hesitation for what might be above, she vaulted up the stairs dragging her suitcase along.

Rita stretched out a hand when she saw her little sister. Tears submerged her eyes as she wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to her chest. She wept while she brushed Sam's hair back. When the explosion had occurred she was petrified it had claimed Sam like it had the rest of her home.

"What happened?" Sam tried to make sense of it all. It seemed only a moment ago they were eating dinner, now there wasn't even a home to cook food in.

"I don't know. God, my head hurts," Rita squeezed her throbbing temples. "We have to get going before it gets back." Constructing sentences hurt and she found herself slipping dangerously close to unconsciousness.

Sam helped her wounded sister stumble to the street. Rita's car had been dented in the blast. A huge piece of debris had crushed the hood demolishing the engine. The thought of filing a claim with her insurance company was the most sane thought Rita felt like she had had in a little while now. She really liked that car.

She sank to her knees. The fight she had been waging with consciousness was finally over and her body simply refused to give her any more aid. She felt like she was starting to hear the world through cotton and her vision was making the people in front of them blur and morph. In her last few moments of consciousness, she was vaguely aware of a military vehicle pulling up. A light flashed in front of her eyes. She could tell Sam was babbling on to someone about something, but all Rita wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep. As her torso began to descend to the ground, she felt gloved hands reach out and yank her up. Her body had the sensation of being lifted from the earth. Then, darkness.


End file.
